It was reported to Solomon: “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me not to put his servant to the sword.’”
We have here, I. The tidings of Solomon's inauguration brought to Adonijah and his party, in the midst of their jollity: They had made an end of eating, and, it should seem, it was a great while before they made an end, for all the affair of Solomon's anointing was ordered and finished while they were at dinner, glutting themselves.
Commenting on 1 Kings 1:41-53
And it was told Solomon,.... By some of his courtiers: saying, behold, Adonijah feareth King Solomon; lest he should take away his life: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar; which was the last resort of the guilty when they despaired of mercy otherwise: saying, let King Solomon swear unto me this day that he will not slay his servant...
1Ki 1:51-52 When this was reported to Solomon, together with the prayer of Adonijah that the king would swear to him that he would not put him to death with the sword (אם before ימית, a particle used in an oath), he promised him conditional impunity: “If he shall be brave (בּן־חיל, vir probus), none of his hair shall fall to the earth,” equivalent to...
Commenting on 1 Kings 1:51-52